- Petri Kokkonen is a wilderness guide and entrepreneur based in Lapland.
- In 2018, Kokkonen traded city life for a remote cabin in the Finnish wilderness.
- Kokkonen said he never felt truly happy living in the city and wanted to be closer to nature.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Petri Kokkonen, a wilderness guide based in Lapland, Finland. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I live in the remote Vätsäri area on the shores of Lake Inari in Lapland, Finland.
It's mostly just wilderness around me and there are no neighbors for miles.
I grew up visiting the area as a child during the school holidays. We would visit my family's primitive summer cabin for two or three weeks at a time, take boat trips on the lake, go fishing, and generally enjoy nature around us.
After finishing school, I worked in various insurance and real estate roles in Lapland's capital city, Rovaniemi, for almost 10 years.
I never felt completely happy or 100% present when I lived in the city. I worked long hours, was on the phone or computer all the time, and was stressed when I went to bed and woke up.
Being happy is the most important thing to me, so I started thinking about my life and how to improve it.
I began spending more time in the forest and the wilderness; some weeks, I would work Monday to Friday and then spend the weekend there.
It started to feel like I didn't want to return to the city — so I made the move permanent.
Primitive living
In 2018, I moved to the Vätsäri area.
The cabin I live in doesn't have a normal electric system. I used to use a generator once a week to recharge power banks, but now I have solar panels — although this can be hard in the winter when the north of Finland is in darkness for 24 hours.
I get my drinking water from the lake as we have really pure water here in Lapland. I don't have a modern water system, so I also use the water to shower.
Brutal conditions
It's hardest when it's cold, as northern Finland can reach temperatures of -25 to -35 degrees Celsius, or -13 to -31 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first thing I do on a winter morning is make a fire in the fireplace. You need to be careful about what you wear when you go outside and consider safety before anything else.
I do have a mobile phone, but it's mainly for safety. It's like insurance for me, I can always call someone if there are problems.
A stress-free life
I miss my family and friends sometimes but I always think if I'm not happy, the people around me won't be either.
It felt hard to listen to and connect with others when I was living in the city. Nowadays, it's different. I appreciate it when I go back and can talk about everything with my friends and family. I feel like I get much more out of it.
Now, when I go to sleep and wake up in the morning, I don't have any stress and feel truly happy.